The subject of this thesis is the exploration of quantum dots in photonic crystal defect cavities. The plane wave expansion method for calculating photonic band structures was used to design defect cavities with resonances in the vicinity of typical quantum dot energies (1.3 eV). Defect cavities were fabricated in both the square and triangular lattice. Described in detail are the fabrication processes that were developed and the measurements that were made. This work includes the first ever measurement of a defect cavity fabricated in a photonic crystal membrane with a quantum dot active layer. Quality factors as high as 4000 were observed for two different cavity designs, corresponding to record Purcell factors at the time each measurement was made. The finding of ultra-long photon lifetimes in this new class of photonic nanostructure has the potential to unlock new and exciting applications in quantum dot cavity quantum electrodynamics.
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